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Nova Scotia
The Republic of Nova Scotia is a located in . Composed of a portion of the continent and various surrounding islands, Nova Scotia is bordered by to the west and north, the to the east, and the to the south. The nation has a total land area of 132,416 square kilometres, making it the nation in the world. Nova Scotia has an estimated population of 1,813,102 as of 2015, making it the country in the world. The capital of Nova Scotia is Halifax, which is also the largest city. Nova Scotia is a with a National Assembly as its . The legislature determines the Prime Minister through a , with the elected typically being the leader of a majority party or a majority coalition of parties. The Prime Minister then appoints the members of the cabinet with approval of the National Assembly, thus forming the Government of Nova Scotia. Elections for the members of the National Assembly are held every four years nationwide, with the individual provinces electing a number of representatives depending on their population through the electoral system. The Nova Scotian government was created in its current form following the abolition of the monarchy in 1949 and the establishment of the republic the following year. Originally inhabited by various aboriginal peoples, the contemporary nation of Nova Scotia was first explored by Europeans in detail by the explorer , who claimed the land for the King of France. The explorations of Cartier led to the establishment of the first permanent French settlement in North America in 1604 by . The success of Champlain's settlement led to the growth of the French population into the colony of . The colony would not last, however, as in 1621 it would be ceded to , which renamed it . The French settlers would live alongside the Scottish peacefully, with a large number of English s joining the mix during the . After the unification of England and Scotland, the Acadians would be expelled entirely by 1730. The loyalty displayed by the colonists during the would allow the colony to gain in 1816, and eventually, the colony became the first British in 1848. The Nova Scotians opted to remain independent of the rest of , deciding not to join the Canadian confederation in 1867. Years of peaceful and economic growth allowed for the Nova Scotians to retain a strong naval fleet, becoming a useful subject of the British Empire in many late Victorian conflicts, including the . Domestic opposition to the war, however, was high, and the somewhat forced nature of Nova Scotia's participation began domestic calls for the country's self-removal from the British Empire. After the , the public became overly dissatisfied with the status of the dominion, and even the in 1931 was not considered to be enough. Nova Scotia would once again join the British with the outbreak of the in 1939, to which domestic opposition was heavy. After the end of the war, Nova Scotia successfully negotiated their independence with an incredibly weakened British government, resulting in the abolition of the monarchy and shortly thereafter the creation of the republic in 1950. The independent republic avoided conflict, and this continued peace would allow rapid economic expansion with the introduction of on the world stage following the end of the . The Nova Scotian economy is a , which is centered mostly upon a mixture of and economic activities. Nova Scotia has a large industry which has expanded greatly in the last thirty years, with both small and large becoming one of the most prominent manufacturing industries in the economy. The manufacturing of and other also represents a large share of the domestic economy. In the tertiary sector, , , and represent the largest segments of the sector, with the largest companies related to the , , , and industries. Overall, Nova Scotia has a very high and a moderate . Nova Scotia holds generally warm relations with most other nations around the world. Among the nations with which it has the closest and friendliest relations, nearly all are considered to be a part of the . The country has its closest allies in Britain, , , and the . The nation is a member of the , the , the , and the , and it is a partner state of the and the . Etymology The English name Nova Scotia is taken directly from the name for the region, which translates to New Scotland, named originally for its ownership by the Scottish for a portion of its early European colonial history. The official name of the country, the Republic of Nova Scotia, signifies the contemporary republican political situation of the government, with the name adopted in 1949 in order to denote the end of the lengthy, historical relationship with the British government. Formerly, the region which the country occupies was known as Acadia, by which it was called during the French period of its European inhabitance. History Nova Scotia was originally home to various , the largest of the two being the and the peoples. These two groups of native peoples had lived in the region for at least 2,500 years before their discovery by Europeans. Older, less directly related groups are believed to have inhabited the region at least 11,000 years before the present. The Mi'kmaq and the Maliseet are not directly related to these Paleo-Indian groups, as there is little evidence to connect the two through an intermediate culture. Hence, it is generally accepted that the Mi'kmaq and the Maliseet have lived in the region for at least 3,000 years. These two native groups were a part of the larger , a loose confederation of seven First Nations in the region which existed at the point of European first contact. Despite the thriving of the Wabanaki peoples beforehand, the seven nations underwent a steady decline following the settlement of the region by the first Europeans, a decline which would ultimately end with the colonial subjugation of the Mi'kmaq and the Maliseet by 1761. Settlement period The region which now makes up Nova Scotia was first explored by the Italian in 1497, when he made the first landfall and claimed the land for the and the . The expedition led by Cabot was the first group of Europeans to have set foot on the mainland North American continent. Although the land was claimed for England, it would be largely ignored for the next hundred years, was the political situation during the brought about more English interest than the establishment of a North American colony. The first permanent settlers of contemporary Nova Scotia were the led by , who established the first capital for the colony of , , in 1605. The French settled the region in large numbers, although only a few trading posts were the only other French settlements outside of Port Royal itself. In 1621, the named the land "Nova Scotia" and settled under the leadership of . The Scottish settlement triggered a short war between the colonists known as Earl William's War, which would last from 1621 to 1623, and ultimately saw the signing of the Treaty of Saint John with the intervention of the Scottish authorities from Europe proper. The French and the Scottish agreed to cohabitation of Nova Scotia, with the region being administered in its entirety as a free region and the respective governments having control specifically over their own colonists. By 1630, a large influx of Scottish settlers had, for the most part, equalised the French and Scottish colonial populations. In 1640, after competing claims for the governorship of French Acadia were failed to be reconciled through negotiation, and , leaders of administrations at Saint John and Port Royal respectively, began fighting against one another in order to secure their claim to governorship. This conflict was known as the , and brought about a weakness to French oversight of the region during the course of the war. An immediate result of the war was the increase of the bounds of Scottish colonial habitations, and more prominently, the addition of a new settling group to the region. Large numbers of settled in the region under Scottish authorities, hoping to escape persecution in England during the . The coincidence of the Acadian and English Civil Wars ultimately left the French-speaking population at a steadily increasing disadvantage, and despite the local peace between the French and the two British peoples, the situation became increasingly unstable abroad as the colonial realm became ever more important to the political situation in Europe proper. Colonial period The first of the European conflicts to reach contemporary Nova Scotia was the , in its North American theatre known as . The war would last from 1688 to 1697, and ultimately, the conflict would complicate the delicate political situation shared between Acadia and Nova Scotia. The English and Scottish settlers of Nova Scotia open attacked French colonial settlements of Acadia, and further English forces assaulted the region from New England. However, the French alliance with the hindered the abilities of the Nova Scotians, and ultimately, the simply ended the conflict without any change in the political situation of Nova Scotia. While the overall situation remained unchanged, the conflict brought about a sense of unity between the English and Scottish settlers of Nova Scotia, furthering bringing together the colonists and jointly recognising their equality with one another. These early steps in the face of European states, which determined the separation between the English and the Scottish, would contribute towards a growing loyalty to the idea of Nova Scotia rather than loyalty to their home countries among the colonists. It was not long after the end of King William's War in 1697 until war broke out again in 1702, this time as a part of the . This conflict carried over to North America in the form of , which brought about more hostilities between the Acadians and the Nova Scotians. During the course of the war, the English and Scottish governments unified, and the jointly British effort ultimately saw the defeat of the Acadians by 1710 with the complete wiping out all French colonial authorities in the region. This situation would be formalised with the in 1713 declaring the annexation of all formerly Acadian holds into the colony of Nova Scotia, recognised officially from that point forward. The British colonial authority quickly established control over the disgruntled Acadian populace, and despite initial efforts at peaceful cohabitation as was achieved in the earlier history of the region, animosity between the Acadians and the Nova Scotians resulted in the outbreak of in 1722. After the defeat of the Acadians in 1725, the Nova Scotian government gave the inhabitants of their settlements a of five years to leave Nova Scotia and to never return with an intent to settle. Although many left in compliance with the order, thousands refused to leave, resulting in the beginning in 1730, in which over a nine year period, 11,000 Acadians would be deported from the region. By 1739, the near entirety of the former Acadian populace had been completely removed. Only a short period of peace would follow the conflict once more, as in 1740 the broke out in Europe and carried over to North America in 1744 in the form of . The conflict, on the scale of conflicts between the British and the French on the continent, was negligible in its overall impact, as it simply saw the removal of French attempts to resettle on , from which many had been deported in the decades prior to the outbreak of the war. With the end of the war in 1748, the British allowed for the creation of more Catholic-led settlements throughout Nova Scotia, and the region became more entrenched in its heavily Catholic traditions. After another relatively short period of peace, war broke out again between the British and the French, this time as a part of the in the form of the in 1754. The war was a total defeat of French forces in North America, and it insured the complete control of Nova Scotia by British colonial authorities through the in 1763. The treaty also established peace between colonists and the Wabanaki peoples and vowed to protect Roman Catholicism in the New World on the part of the British. Hence, the treaty insured the existence of Nova Scotia in its form at the time, and ultimately, led to a massive outpour of support by Nova Scotians for the British government. Home rule period In 1765, the colony was granted its own legislative assembly, and in 1767, it was granted its own independent superior court. In 1769, the Halifax Congress was recognised by the British government, and the borders of the colony of Nova Scotia were revised with those of and Maine. This favouritism of the colony is one of the primary reasons, along with the Catholic allowance of the British government, that Nova Scotia would remain a heavy stronghold during the outbreak of the in 1776. Throughout the course of the war, Nova Scotia would be raided multiple times by American privateers and there would be several revolts in support of the revolution, though eventually, towards the end, the colony would become a major source of British North American naval power through the government expansion of the domestic industry. After the end of the war in 1783, many Loyalists from the newly independent United States would flee to Nova Scotia, though, by 1786, most had either left for or the . The Nova Scotian government was expanded by the British government for its loyalty during the American Revolutionary War, as, in 1792, the Colonial Assembly was authorised to form a basic independent administration, in which the governor general had their powers reduced. The loss of the Thirteen Colonies resulted in a massive economic expansion for Nova Scotia, as it became a way station for British Atlantic trade between Canada and Great Britain. The expansion of the shipping industry and the local populations through immigration resulted in Nova Scotia becoming a maritime powerhouse locally, with the colony playing a major role during the naval confrontations of the . The was also the result of intense British naval pressure on the United States, and Nova Scotia remained an important British maritime post to check the power of the American navy during the war. Although the war resulted in a stalemate in 1815, the British rewarded the Nova Scotian government with full right of through the power of a in 1816, making Nova Scotia the first such colony to be given the privilege. The end of the War of 1812 also ushered in a period in which Nova Scotia was completely surrounded by non-hostile entities, marking the end of a long history of colonial warfare that defined a large part of the colony's earlier history. However, the grant of home rule only allowed for greater expansion of the colony's importance as a centre of North Atlantic maritime trade. The government began programs aimed at increasing the ability and skill of the domestic shipbuilding industry, all the while promoting the diversification of the economy as a whole. The period following the creation of the responsible government was marked by increasingly prosperous success. During the period following 1820 up to the creation of the Dominion in 1848, Nova Scotia was the second largest producer of vessels in the British Empire, second only to Great Britain itself. The period between these times is regarded to be the culmination of successful colony-building, and Nova Scotia was used during this time period as the premier example of a British-settled colony. Dominion period In 1848, after thirty-six years of prosperity and political stability, Nova Scotia became the first British subject to be granted status. It was with the establishment of the dominion that many of Nova Scotia's contemporary political systems were first instituted, including the transitioning of the Colonial Assembly to the National Assembly, the creation of the office of Prime Minister, and the formalisation of the provinces. The first elections were held in 1848, with the formation of a single political party, the Whig Party, marking the beginning of a long period of single-party dominance. The Whig government of Nova Scotia promoted domestic economic development through grants to start up businesses and the creation of the National Bank of Nova Scotia. In 1851, the first factory would be built in the capital of Halifax, marking the beginning of the spread of throughout the dominion. Despite supporting and fairly progressive in comparison to many other governments at the time, the dominion government of Nova Scotia was heavily opposed to joining a rapidly developing Canada. In 1867, Nova Scotia was involuntarily entered into negotiations for the creation of federal dominion encompassing all of British North America which lay north of the United States. The Nova Scotian government, however, successfully exited the proposals for the creation of the federal dominion, using its long history of self rule and loyalty to the British government as reasons why it should remain an independent dominion. Hence, when the was established in 1867, Nova Scotia avoided joining the polity. The success experienced financially by Nova Scotia would keep the dominion separate of Canada throughout the remainder of its history as a subject of the British government. In 1885, Nova Scotia began its first service as a dominion in foreign British territory in helping the Canadian government quell the . The rebellion was the first conflict located in the territory of the British Empire in which Nova Scotian forces would play a direct role. Over time, the dominion would come to take part in various British conflicts across the world, including the in South Africa and the in China. The participation of Nova Scotia in these conflicts was largely required by the British, and in this requirement, the first republican sentiments began to arise among the Nova Scotian people. Interwar period As the came to a close, the Nova Scotian economy began to struggle. With high economic instability and popular discontent with British colonial conflicts, republicanism in Nova Scotia began to become a prominent force in the political spectrum. For the first time in its history of dominion, the Whig Party was thrown out of power in 1905 with the election of the Independent-Republican Party into a majority in the National Assembly. The party began a period of unfavourable views of the British government among many Nova Scotians, and the election of fervent pro-republican politicians reflected the dissatisfaction of the populace with the continued prominence of the British government in the affairs of the Nova Scotian state. Republican sentiments would become even more prominent with the outbreak of the in 1914 and the joining of Nova Scotia in the conflict. Many detested the continued involvement of the country in the European and other global affairs of Britain, but, despite heavy public disapproval, the government of the country complied with the British request for aid in the conflict in Europe. By the end of the war in 1918, nearly all Nova Scotians supported a move to leave the British commonwealth entirely. The post-war prosperity of the following decade eased tensions between the British and Nova Scotian governments. The shipbuilding industry was revitalised with a historic trade pact with Canada which made the import of shipbuilding resources cheaper. became the norm in the country, and the wealth of the shipping economy in the North Atlantic allowed for the easing of economic pressure faced by many Nova Scotians through the cheapening of imports. However, with the burst of the consumer stock bubble in 1929, and the following , Nova Scotia was hit exceptionally hard. The country entered into the worst economic crisis in its history, and at its peak in 1932, more than 30% of the population was unemployed. Category:Nova Scotia Category:Nations